Scary $2 billion riches in EPL record

ENGLISH Premier League clubs enjoyed record profits last season, according to a report published on Friday by financial consultants Deloitte.

The report said the Premier League made a collective pre-tax profit of $913 million (£500 million) - almost three times the previous record of $365 million (£200 million) in 2013-14.

With strong broadcast revenues and Financial Fair Play rules keeping wages in check to a degree, England's top-flight clubs also posted a record operating profit - total revenues minus wages and other costs, apart from transfer fees - of $1.83 billion (£1 billion), double the figure for the previous season.

Wages, however, did rise across the league by nine per cent to a new record of $4.56 billion (£2.5 billion), but overall revenue rose 25 per cent.

Not everyone’s had a good year.

Dan Jones, the head of Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said the revenue increase was a result of last season being the first of a three-year domestic broadcasting deal with BT and Sky worth more than £5.1 billion.

Jones added the increase in wages was "nowhere near the level of revenue growth" and this reflected "both the extent of (the Premier League's) financial advantage over other leagues and the impact of domestic and European cost control measures".

Although the league has had difficulties in selling the next set of domestic broadcast rights this year, Jones forecast clubs that had made collective pre-tax profits in three of the last four years would continue to record impressive financial figures.

"Despite the lack of growth in domestic broadcast deals announced to date, we still expect to see overall revenue growth in the coming seasons, and if this is complemented with prudent cost control we expect that pre-tax profits will be achieved for the foreseeable future," he said.

Manchester United remains the most profitable football club on the planet.

The above figures do not include transfer costs, which for accounting purposes are spread over the length of a player's contract.

Transfer fees are continuing to rise worldwide but Deloitte is confident the Premier League is well placed to continue to compete with Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga for leading players, with a number of top footballers likely to be looking for new clubs after the World Cup in Russia in June and July.

"We have already seen some clubs utilising their significant revenue increases, with a record £1.9 billion spent on transfers in the 2017-18 season," senior Deloitte consultant Tim Bridge said.

"We may again see similar levels of spending in the coming season, with the World Cup providing the perfect shop window for talent, but expenditure remains well within the means of clubs."